


Wayward Wood

by what_the_nesmith



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Case Fic, M/M, One Shot, mentions of Gideon - Freeform, the gang goes camping for an unsub tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:38:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_the_nesmith/pseuds/what_the_nesmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eleven years ago, a group of six college students went hiking up in the mountains of Willow Ward County. Two days after they were supposed to all come home, county police found the group slaughtered in a makeshift campsite. When there's a break on the case, the BAU is called in to help catch this unsub once and for all, even if that means the team has to hike up into the woods to find this killer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Morgan sat at his desk in the bullpen, flipping through some papers that he was trying to avoid doing, although it was altogether a fruitless effort. Realizing this, he pushed away from his desk and turned to look at Emily Prentiss. 

“Psst, Emily,” Morgan hissed. 

Prentiss looked up from her own paperwork, a tight frown creasing her brow. Her gaze lingered on Morgan for a moment before dropping back down to her paperwork. 

“Oh come on, Prentiss, don’t do that to me,” Morgan groaned. 

Prentiss looked up again, a smile breaking out on her face. 

“You’re trying to avoid paperwork, Morgan,” Prentiss observed, “And I’m not going to help you do that.” 

“You are too cruel, baby, just brutal,” Morgan sing-songed. 

“Actually, Prentiss is doing you a favor. Considering it takes you around 4 minutes and thirty three seconds to really get into your work and then about another eight to actually finish around two pages of paper,” Reid piped up. 

Morgan fixed him with narrowed eyes, playfully of course, but narrowed nonetheless. He was about to throw back some sarcastic remark to his pretty boy when JJ interrupted him. 

“Guys, Hotch wants everyone in the conference room now,” she announced. 

“Didn’t we just get back from a case?” Prentiss complained. 

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know what this is about,” JJ shrugged. 

As the usual summoning went, the BAU team made their way into the conference room. JJ, Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss took seats as Garcia and Rossi filed into the room. Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner stood before his team, a tense strain on his face evident. 

“I know we just closed a case, but there isn’t any time to waste with this case that has just minutes ago received a top priority label,” Hotch spoke as he passed out files to each of his team members. 

“The Willow Ward County Killer?” Rossi frowned, “This case has been around for awhile.” 

“It’s actually been one of the most elusive cases the BAU ever received, being labeled as a cold case for about eleven years,” said Reid as he quickly scanned through the file, “Although the killer is assumed to have been active for that time, it’s nearly impossible tell considering this unsub’s preferred hunting grounds.” 

“This guy kills hikers literally in the middle of nowhere,” Prentiss frowned. 

“If this case has been with us for eleven years, why are we being brought in on it now?” Morgan wanted to know. 

“At the back of the files you will all find four new victims that are confirmed victims of the Willow Ward County killer,” Hotch informed them. 

“He left a note,” JJ stated. 

“How long it’s been since we last met, dear one. The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Yet, I still live and soon they shall be dead,” Reid read the note aloud. 

Although it was a photocopy of the note, Reid could tell that this was not a spur of the moment sort of thing. The unsub had made sure to type this note out onto standard printer paper. It was a very intentional note as well.

“Is it a taunt?” Prentiss suggested. 

“The first line and the very last line are original,” Reid pointed out. 

“Original?” Rossi frowned. Reid glanced up, realizing that he was the only one who picked up on the quote. 

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” Reid repeated, “That’s a quote from Edgar Allan Poe. The first and last lines aren’t part of the quote though.” 

“So our unsub knows Poe,” Rossi shrugged. 

“Do local police know who the ‘they’ is in reference to?” JJ asked. 

“No, Willow Ward County has decreased in popularity with hikers ever since the first killings. Hardly anyone goes out there anymore. We’re being called in because these victims were only killed two days ago and the local police are determined to catch him this time,” Hotch answered and then began to fill in everything else. 

Eleven years ago, a group of six college students went hiking up in the mountains of Willow Ward County. Two days after they were supposed to all come home, county police found the group slaughtered in a makeshift campsite. 

The deaths were chalked up to being a bear attack. 

Until two days later, another group of four hikers were found dead in the same manner. The wounds were senseless, nothing the same. Some had human bite marks on them. Some had knife wounds, scratches, and bruise marks. The local police had never seen anything so brutal caused by another human. This went on, two more killings like this in the same pattern. 

And so the BAU was called in to profile. They were able to figure out that this particular unsub received no sexual pleasure from the kills, but utilized the killings to sustain his need for control over others. Yet the profile seemed to fall through when the case went cold.

Until the next year. One group of killings cropped up the next year and three more every two days after the first. It went on for eleven more years like that, with local police having no way of tracking this killer. He seemed to be able to travel huge distances in the matter of days and left no trace of himself except for bite marks and once in the eighth year, he left a single thumbprint on a female victim. But nothing had come from either. 

Garcia, who up until that point had been unusually quiet, spoke up after Hotch finished. 

“That’s horrible,” she nearly whispered. 

“That’s why the county police are ready to put this unsub behind bars. Especially because this time he used a gun, along with his usual methods,” Hotch nodded his agreement as he spoke, “Wheels up in fifeteen, if everyone can manage that. Garcia, you’ll be coming along with us.” 

There was a chorus of confirmation from the team, along with Garcia, and they each got up to grab their go-bags. As Morgan was walking out of the conference room, he felt Penelope Garcia sidle up alongside him. 

“So, I know this is bad time, but after what Hotch said in there, I think I need a little sweetness in my life, buttercup,” Garcia quickly explained before continuing, “How’d your little movie date with the handsome Dr. Reid go last night?” 

Morgan felt a little side-swiped by this comment. 

“Um, it was fine,” came Morgan’s response. 

“Fine? Come on, give me more than that, sugar cakes, I mean, you guys have only been at this whole outside of work couple thing for about a month now and I haven’t heard a word from either of you and it’s driving me crazy!” Garcia exclaimed. 

Morgan paused at his desk, reaching underneath to grab the always at the ready to-go bag he kept underneath it. 

“Garcia, baby girl, I’ll tell you what,” Morgan began, turning to look Garcia in her beautiful eyes, “After this case, we’ll have one of our nights, nails and wine and corny movies of your choosing, and I’ll tell you all about me and Reid. How’s that sound?” 

 

Garcia clapped her hands together with excitement. 

“That’ll be just what I need after this case,” she grinned. 

Morgan kissed her on the cheek. 

“Now go get your stuff, mama,” Morgan instructed. 

Garcia nodded and hurried to her domain. 

“Nails, wine, and corny movies?” Prentiss raised an eyebrow, her to-go bag hanging in the crook of her left elbow. 

“I am not ashamed,” Morgan grinned. 

“Not ashamed of what?” Reid wanted to know. 

Morgan and Prentiss burst into laughter. Before Reid could inquire any further about what was so funny to them, Rossi came by. 

“Let’s put a little rhythm into that shake and get on the plane,” he commented. 

“The hell does that mean?” Morgan responded. Prentiss shrugged her shoulders.

Soon the team was on the jet, which was already in the air. Garcia felt a bit odd being on the plane, considering usually she was in her own royal kingdom back at Quantico. 

“When we land, we’ll be going to a cabin in which local law enforcement is using as the homebase for this operation,” Hotch began to say, “I neglected to inform you all that this case is going to be operated differently than our usual. We’re going to be required to travel to the unsub, which we will be doing, with Garcia and JJ staying at homebase.” 

“We’re going camping for an unsub?” Prentiss nearly snorted. 

“Not exactly, but yes. The sheriff has informed me that her plans are to use this operation not only as a way to take the fight to the unsub but as a trap,” Hotch nodded his head.

“If there weren’t a killer on the loose, I might have labeled this case a fun one,” Morgan commented. 

“And the sheriff needs us to help because…?” Rossi wondered. 

“Our job is to get into this unsub’s head as much as possible. Without knowing his behaviour, we won’t be able to trap him,” Hotch answered. 

“We don’t have much to go on,” pointed out Prentiss. 

“Yeah, but at least we get to go camping,” Morgan grinned. 

“Ha, ha, well I’m glad I’m staying at this cabin. I wasn’t meant to camp,” Garcia huffed. 

“Um, Hotch, is there any way I could stay behind with Garcia and JJ, help them out or something?” Reid suddenly piped up. 

“Reid, your assets to this case would be better utilized with us,” Hotch replied, a slight frown furrowing his brow.

Under the sudden gaze of all his teammates, Reid squirmed slightly in his seat. 

“It’s just that I’ve never been camping before,” he quietly admitted. 

“You’ve never been camping before?” Morgan asked incredulously. 

“I grew up in Las Vegas and dedicated my adult life to getting where I am today, so I didn’t really have a chance to go out into some muddy woods to have a nap in some leaves,” Reid snapped back. 

The expression on Reid’s face made a twinge of regret spring into Morgan’s gut. He had only been kidding around, yet it seemed that the profiler had hit a nerve in the young doctor. 

“Camping might not be for everyone, but it isn’t that bad. Long as we have tents, I’ll show you how to enjoy camping,” Rossi said after a moment, “Plus, knowing you, you’ll forget you’re even in the middle of nowhere once we get into this case.” 

Rossi’s words must have done the trick since Morgan saw Reid’s discomfort dissipate. 

“I’ve taken Jack camping once, but I got poison ivy and so we had to go home,” Hotch recalled. 

“Henry’s never been camping,” JJ admitted, “I should take him sometime.” 

With the conversation flowing, and without it involving Spencer’s lack of camping experience, Morgan saw Reid fully relax. There was an odd feeling of disappointment lingering around Morgan’s thoughts. The first time Reid goes camping and it has to be heavily involved with a case. That just wasn’t how anyone’s first time camping should be. 

The typical ‘M’ word in a camping trip, especially for a virgin camper so to speak, should be marshmallows, not murder. 

Yet this hardly surprised Morgan. Spencer was a dedicated agent and preferred books to anything else. A curious glance from Reid broke Morgan’s train of thought. He hadn’t realized that he’d been staring at Reid. Morgan flashed him a smile, which Reid returned, before Morgan began flipping through the case file again. 

The rest of the flight went by smoothly, the case being the main topic of conversation. Soon enough, the jet had landed and the team was greeted by Sheriff Maddy Bennett. She was a hefty woman, muscular and tall, with lush brown hair pulled back in a pony tail. 

“Sheriff Bennett, hello,” Hotch greeted, extending his hand towards the sheriff. 

“Agent Hotch, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Sheriff Bennett accepted Hotch’s hand, shaking the FBI agent’s hand dutifully. 

“You must remember SSA Rossi,” Hotch said, gesturing to the team members behind him. 

“Yes, I do, hello Agent Rossi,” Sheriff Bennett nodded her head. 

“The rest are SSA Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, SSA Dr. Reid and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia,” continued Hotch. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Sheriff Bennett gave them all quite a friendly smile before gesturing to the two black SUVs that were parked close by, “My guys are already set up at the cabin. You’ll be going immediately there, staying the night, and then in the morning we head out.” 

Hotch, Rossi, and Garcia rode with Sheriff Bennett in one van, while Spencer, Morgan, JJ, and Prentiss drove in the other. As usual, the two cars were connected via a conference call between Rossi and Prentiss, each phone put on speaker so that everyone could hear each other.

It was then explained that once they arrived at the cabin, the deputy would take two of the team members down to the morgue to inspect the newest victims, and that the ballistics had come back with a surprising result. 

“Ballistics match that of any of my guys, the standard issue firearm,” Sheriff Bennett informed the BAU team as she drove them to the cabin. 

“Garcia, start doing background checks on everyone within the force as soon as we get set up,” Hotch ordered. 

“Of course, sir,” Garcia nodded her head, making a mental note to do just that. 

“Wait until we’ve left,” Sheriff Bennett piped up, “It will be easier to keep a downlow on it then, once most of everyone on my force has cleared out.” 

“Do you have any idea how the unsub might have gotten such a weapon?” Prentiss’s voice came through on the phone Rossi was holding. 

“I’m not sure, maybe the killer jumped one of my guys when he or she was out on a patrol or something,” shrugged Sheriff Bennett. 

“Or one of your men could be helping the unsub,” Rossi pointed out. 

“That’s true,” Reid agreed, his voice sounding oddly high pitched over the phone, “Considering this is the first time the unsub’s methods included a firearm, it’s likely that he could have taken on an apprentice of sorts who decided to introduce a new weapon.”

“But if one of my own decided to team up with this killer, why the hell would he be dumb enough to use his own standard issue firearm?” Sheriff Bennett wanted to know. 

“He’s still learning, it could have been something he hadn’t thought about,” JJ offered. 

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but if this is one of my guys, I could only believe it’s one of the men. I’d recommend looking into the more recently hired, especially if they thought they could get away with using their own weapon for a murder,” Sheriff Bennett spoke, “The newer members always think that we aren’t real local law enforcement since we just reside over Willow Ward County and not the next county over. They have a better budget than we do.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you,” Garcia smiled. 

“Sheriff Bennett, how well do you know your deputy?” Hotch questioned. 

“Halley Martins is most definitely not helping the killer. One of the victims was her father, the second time he struck her father had been one of those who perished. She’s been one of the main driving forces behind keeping this hunt fresh,” Sheriff Bennett answered. 

Nothing else of importance was said after that. A few minutes later the Sheriff pulled into the gravelly driveway of a medium sized, wooden cabin. JJ, who had been driving the second SUV, pulled up next to the first. 

“Gideon would have loved this cabin,” Reid said to Morgan as they exited the SUV. 

It had been some time since Jason Gideon had left the BAU and although Reid had told everyone he was fine, over it even, Morgan knew better. The pain was still fresh. 

“Yeah, I think he would have too. He’d have laughed at this whole case, honestly,” Morgan agreed. 

Reid gave him a disapproving look. 

“Gideon wouldn’t have laughed at this case. He would never laugh at any case,” Reid pointed out, almost angrily. 

“I’m just kidding around, kid. But you gotta admit, Gideon would have loved to have this case, having to go camping and all for an unsub,” Morgan pointed out. 

Morgan saw Reid shift his satchel around on his shoulder. Yes, the pain of Gideon’s departure was still fresh with the youngest member and try as he might, there wasn’t anything Morgan could do to help Reid until Reid was ready to be helped. 

The older man placed a comforting hand on Reid’s shoulder but before he could speak, Hotch was already giving orders. 

“Rossi, Reid, go with Deputy Martins to the morgue to inspect the bodies’ of the victims. Garcia and JJ can set up upstairs, the rest of us will be reviewing the profile,” said Hotch. 

“Franny will help you, if you need it,” Sheriff Bennett informed the two women who nodded their acknowledgement, “I’ll go grab Halley.” 

“I don’t think I’ll need help, I know my stuff,” Garcia joked, which gave JJ a laugh.

Sheriff Bennett entered inside with Hotch, JJ, Garcia, and Prentiss following her suit. Morgan squeezed Reid’s shoulder gently. 

“I’ll see you later, pretty boy,” Morgan smiled. 

“Make sure they have a geographical profile set up in there for me when I get back,” Reid told him. 

Morgan wanted to roll his eyes. Sometimes it was always work and no play for Reid. 

“Sure,” Morgan simply answered and headed inside the cabin just as Deputy Martins was exiting. 

Having watched the exchange between the two, David Rossi sidled up alongside Ried. 

“You know, after this case, you and Morgan should plan a camping trip by yourselves, since technically this is work and work doesn’t really mesh well with camping,” Rossi spoke. 

Reid raised an eyebrow but before he could reply to Rossi’s comment, Deputy Martins had joined them. 

“Hi, I’m Deputy Halley Martins, but call me Halley” the deputy greeted. 

“Hi, I’m SSA Rossi, this is SSA Dr. Reid,” Rossi smiled.

Deputy Martins gave Reid a hard once over. 

“Aren’t you a little young for being a doctor and an FBI agent?” she wondered. 

“Well, I graduated from high school at the age of 14, and I attended Caltech, receiving my first doctorate in mathematics at 17,” shrugged Reid. 

Deputy Martins was quite floored by the comment.

“We should get over to the morgue so we have time to review the profile before tomorrow,” Rossi said before Deputy Martins could question the good doctor any further, “You keep this kid talking, and you’ll just keep getting more jealous of him.” 

Deputy Martins nodded before clambering into the driver’s seat of the nearest SUV. Rossi snatched the passenger’s side, leaving Reid to hop into the back. Then Martins pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the morgue.

Inside, Sheriff Bennett had shown Garcia and JJ a room upstairs where they could set up the computers Garcia needed, informing that none of her people were allowed into that room. With the risk of a double agent, Sheriff Bennett wanted that known. 

Downstairs, Hotch was looking over the boards that Bennett’s people had set up. There were pictures of the previous victims and a map marking the area in which the unsub typically struck within. 

“Where are we going to be setting up tomorrow?” Prentiss asked the sheriff. 

“Right in the middle,” Sheriff Bennett replied, pointing to the middle of a penciled circle on the map. 

“Is there any significance to that?” Morgan wondered. 

“We figure that the unsub is living within the woods and there are a few caves in the middle, plus each time this guy has struck, it’s been around the perimeter of the circle, so he had to be residing somewhere within the middle of it,” Sheriff Bennett answered. 

Morgan glanced at Prentiss. She wore a knitted frown, a giveaway that something had occurred to her. She inclined her head towards the front door and Morgan nodded his understanding. Leaving Hotch to continue inspecting the board, Prentiss and Morgan exited the cabin. 

“What’s up?” Morgan asked Prentiss once they were sure none of Bennett’s people were around. 

“Okay, so if we go along with the idea that our original unsub has taken up a partner or an apprentice or something, who decided to add in his own weapon of choice into the mix, then the note is probably from him,” Prentiss explained, her voice hushed so that no one could overhear them, “And if he left a note, I’m thinking that maybe he’s planning on taking out our original unsub.” 

“What makes you think that?” Morgan frowned.

Although it did make sense, it was a real stab in the dark. 

“Well, the note said at the end ‘Yet, I still live and soon they shall be dead’. Maybe ‘they’ isn’t referring to victims but the original unsub,” Prentiss suggested. 

“That would make sense, maybe the second unsub is planning on taking all the glory or something,” Morgan nodded his head. 

Meanwhile, Deputy Martins pulled the SUV into the parking lot of the morgue. The trio exited the vehicle and made their way inside. Dr. Trevor Louis met them and took them to the room where he had autopsied the bodies. 

“So, we have Ryan Urban, Heather Charmings, Gary Ulman, and Victor White,” Dr. Louis spoke as Reid and Rossi looked at the body of Ryan Urban. 

“Cause of death for all?” Reid prompted. 

“Ryan died of blunt force trauma to the back of the head, Heather was shot in her femoral artery and bled to death, Gary got a bullet to the head, and Victor died of bloodloss from being impaled by a sharpened stick,” Dr. Louis answered. 

“There are definitely two unsubs,” Reid murmured, walking around the table that Ryan was displayed on to inspect the corpse of Heather. 

“Were there any other differences between the four bodies besides COD?” Rossi wanted to know. 

Dr. Louis flipped through his clipboard. 

“Yes, actually. Heather and Gary each showed signs of sexual assault, the majority falling upon Heather,” Dr. Louis replied, “Heather had bruising on her inner thighs and both victims had post-mortem stab wounds, four times each on the abdomen near their genitals.” 

“None of the other victims in previous years exhibited that,” Rossi stated. 

“I did autopsies on the victims of the last two years,” Dr. Louis confirmed, “And none of them have ever showed signs of sexual assault. Most of them died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head, which would have killed them all instantly.” 

“Remorse?” Rossi frowned, glancing down at Reid. 

“No, I don’t think so. The original profile on the first unsub was correct, he kills every two days out of an eight day period because he has to sustain a violent nature that he probably supplements with hunting during the cooling off period,” Reid said, moving from Heather to Gary, “That’s why the first unsub kills so brutally. Killing people is the satisfaction he needs and probably gives him a high, but no sexual pleasure is needed, that isn’t why he does it.”

“Yet the second unsub not only used a firearm, he left a note and sexually assault the two victims the first unsub allowed him,” Reid continued, “Gary was a one-kill shot, Heather had time to bleed out. The second unsub is definitely a heterosexual male, considering the bruising on Heather’s thighs yet post-mortem stabs to both victims’ genitals.” 

“He really only had interest in Heather, but decided to keep a similar signature with Gary,” Rossi agreed. 

“So what does that mean?” Deputy Martins piped up. 

“Means that these two unsubs are an unlikely mix,” Rossi answered, “I’ll call Hotch and tell him what we found out on our way back to the cabin.” 

The agents and the deputy thanked Dr. Louis before exiting the morgue. True to his word, Rossi phoned Hotchner and informed the team leader about what he and Reid had found out about the victims. 

Hotchner had been informed of Prentiss’s theory and so he filled both Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, and Garcia in on this new information. It was also decided then that Sheriff Bennett and her team of five would not be informed of this development. 

“We will have to be one alert tomorrow and the day after, until we catch both unsubs,” Hotchner advised his team. 

“The second unsub will undoubtedly use the next two days as a moment to take out the first,” Prentiss agreed. 

“He’ll probably play the hero, kill the unsub and claim it was in self-defense, leaving the second off scot-free,” Morgan added. 

“Well, either way, Garcia and you guys to have these walkie-talkies,” JJ informed them, heading each agent a little black walkie-talkie, “Cell service won’t be working out there, but these will.” 

“Good call,” said Hotch. 

“Reid and Rossi can get theirs when they come back,” said Garcia, already busy doing preliminary background checks on Sheriff Bennett’s people. 

So far, there were no red flags. 

By the time the sun dipped behind the horizon, the BAU team had come up with an action plan. They would stay in pairs. Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss would be in one tent while Rossi and Hotch would be in another. None of them would be going off on their own, for safety precautions. 

The basic plan was the same as Sheriff Bennett’s. Lure the first unsub out, or find the location of the unsub’s hiding place, and find the second unsub during the arrest. Each profiler knew this would not be too difficult, since the second unsub was most likely a narcissist and would easily give away his own position during the arrest of the first. 

It was also factored in that there were only three possible unsubs. Altogether, Sheriff Bennett had eight officers, including herself and the deputy. Three were young men. As soon as they headed out for their destination, Garcia would pull up their backgrounds and figure out if any of them had red flags that weren’t in their preliminaries. 

Now it was just a matter of waiting for the morning to come. 

The Sheriff, her deputy, and the other eight officers had all gone home for the night. They would be back around five the next morning. This left the BAU team to sleep at the cabin. Hotch had ordered them all to get as much sleep as they could, considering they had a bit of a hike out to the camping area and would need all of their wits about them tomorrow. 

For the most part, the team had complied. Rossi was asleep in a room he was sharing with Hotch. Garcia and JJ had turned in for the night, and Prentiss was about to join them. 

“Morgan, hey, I’m turning in,” Prentiss said quietly. 

It seemed almost a sin to speak louder than a whisper. With only the sounds of nature outside, the silence seemed almost godlike. 

“Goodnight, Emily,” Morgan replied, before pausing to yawn. 

“You should go grab your doctor and get some sleep,” Prentiss advised. 

“Reid isn’t asleep?” Morgan frowned. 

“No, he’s studying the map again,” Prentiss shook her head. 

“Okay, well we’ll both be going to bed soon,” Morgan assured her. 

Prentiss nodded before getting up. On her way to the stairs, she said goodnight to Reid. The sudden noise spooked him. 

“Oh, uh, goodnight, Emily,” he replied. 

With no one else up now, Morgan knew it was time to drag Reid to bed, whether the genius wanted to or not. So the older agent got to his feet and walked over to the two boards. Reid’s brow was furrowed and he was staring intently at the map, his finger brushing across a marking that signalled were a cave was located. 

“Hey, Reid, everyone else has gone to bed. What’d’ya say we go upstairs and get some rest ourselves?” Morgan suggested. 

“I’ll be up in a minute,” Reid replied, moving his finger to another cave marker. 

“What are you doing?” Morgan wondered. 

“I’m memorizing where each cave is located for tomorrow’s search,” Reid answered. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll remember, plus both Sheriff Bennett and Hotch will have a spare map that you can look at,” Morgan reminded him. 

“You go to bed, I’ll be up in a minute,” Reid insisted after a moment, “I promise.” 

“Are you thinking about Gideon or the camping?” Morgan pressed. 

This pulled Reid’s attention away from the map for a brief moment. 

“Neither, I’m thinking about the unsubs,” Reid lied. 

Morgan didn’t pick up on it however. It seemed truthful enough, considering the young doctor was committing cave locations to his memory. 

“Alright then, well, if you aren’t upstairs in five minutes, I’m coming back down for you,” Morgan informed him. 

“Fair enough,” Reid agreed. 

Morgan leaned forward and kissed Reid on the cheek. It barely phased the genius. Shaking his head, Morgan headed upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

The cool morning breeze fought against the heat that the day promised. Only twenty minutes earlier, the BAU team members and those of Willow Ward County’s police force had been quickly scarfing down breakfast and coffee at the cabin. 

Now they were well into the hike to their designated camping area in the middle of the geographical profile. It would take them about another twenty minutes to reach their destination. 

“Any of you lot the campin’ type?” Officer Tabitha asked as they made their way through the woods. 

“When I’ve got the time,” Rossi replied, stepping over a large fallen branch that Reid immediately then tripped upon. 

“You okay?” Morgan asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Reid waved a hand at Morgan indicating he didn’t want any help. 

“Don’t go bothering the FBI folks, Tabby,” another officer, Officer Anderson, chastised. 

“It’s okay, we still have a while to go,” Prentiss came to Officer Tabitha’s rescue, “Soon we’ll run out of fun things to talk about.” 

Back at the cabin, JJ had just brought Garcia a cup of coffee. The master of technology was already hard at work digging deep into the three most viable suspects out of Sheriff Bennett’s lot. 

“Any luck yet?” JJ asked as she brought up a chair next to Garcia. 

“No, not yet, but hopefully I’ll have something soon,” responded Garcia. 

Sipping on her own cup of coffee, JJ pulled out the walkie talkie that was her’s and Garcia’s. Now was about a good time as any to double check that they would work. She pressed the button and spoke. 

“Anyone out there?” 

The group was nearly to the campsite when each BAU member heard JJ’s voice coming from the static void of the walkie talkie they each had in their packs. Rossi had his out before anyone else and replied. 

“Hearing you loud and clear, JJ,” Rossi responded. 

“Just checking,” JJ informed him. 

“Alright, you and Garcia stay safe back there,” said Rossi, before adding, “And keep us in the loop of anything you two find out.” 

“Will do,” JJ confirmed. 

“Glad to see these things work,” Morgan commented. 

“I wouldn’t see why the wouldn’t,” Reid began but he wasn’t able to spout the inevitable fact about walkie talkies that was to follow for the group had arrived at where they would set up camp. 

“Alright, we have enough tents for every two people to be in one, although Agent Prentiss, the deputy and I were wondering if you wouldn’t mind squeezing into our tent, so you don’t have to squeeze in with the boys,” Sheriff Bennett said as her other officers began setting up the tents. 

Emily glanced at Hotch, who nodded his permission. 

“That’d be lovely, thank you,” Prentiss smiled. 

It did not take long to set up the tents. Altogether there were six tents. Four for Sheriff Bennett and her crew, the other two for the rest of the BAU team members. The tents were nothing fancy either, considering that most of the day time would be spent on investigating the nearby cave entrances to see if one of them might be housing their unsub. 

Once the tents were secured and the supplies unpacked, Hotchner and Sheriff Bennett stepped aside for a moment to decide upon how they would split up their respective teams. Added together, their number was twelve people. Splitting up into groups of two would cover the most distance and ground. But someone would need to stay at the campsite. 

It was decided that one group of two would stay at camp, while the other groups went out to inspect the nearby caves. They divided up the number of BAU agents and the number of local law enforcement, each BAU member being paired with a local officer. Hotchner hoped that Garcia would radio in her checks on the newest male members of Sheriff Bennett’s team soon. 

Due to this, Hotchner and the deputy were left at the campsite. 

Prentiss was paired with officers Anderson, Morgan with Officer Luke Charles, Reid with the sheriff and Officer Briana Henderson, and Rossi with the third suspect, Officer Jacob Daniels. The last two female officers, Tabby and Maria, were paired together. They each each given an area to search that included a cave. 

Halfway into the day, Aaron’s walkie talkie crackled to life. He had set his to a predetermined setting, so that Garcia’s news on the suspects could be delivered as securely as possible. 

“Sir, it’s Penelope, are you there?” Garcia’s voice came through. 

“Yes, I’m here, go ahead Garcia,” Hotch instructed. 

“Alrighty, so Brian Anderson checks out as far as I’m concerned, and I dug deep on him, trust me. Then we have Luke Charles, who at first I was gonna say ‘tag you’re it, buddy’ because as a teen, he was arrested several times for possession of drugs, would go out into the woods and, ya know, get high and that stuff with some friends. But that was it,” Garcia explained at length. 

“Now, that wouldn’t scream unsub, but it was the best I was getting, that is until I dug up some good dirt on Jacob Daniels. Jacob, at the young age of fifeteen, was suspended from school for setting up video tapes in the girls’ locker room and peeping too. At sixteen, he got arrested for sending another kid in his grade to a hospital when they had gotten into a fight. Then at nineteen he was arrested for sexual assault at his girlfriend at the time. She still lives in the area,” she continued. 

“So our best guess is Jacob Daniels. Have JJ interview the girlfriend,” Hotch said, “Thanks Garcia, I’m switching over to the original line, where the others are tuned into.” 

“Alright, sir, talk to you soon,” Garcia signed off. 

Hotchner walked over to the deputy. 

“My technical analyst believes that the second unsub is Jacob Daniels,” he informed her. 

Her nose scrunched up. 

“I could see that. He comes out here a lot, talks trash about our budget,” the deputy agreed, “Are we going to confront him about it then?” 

“No, not until tomorrow. The agent we left behind is going to be interviewing Daniels’s old girlfriend,” Hotchner answered. 

"Alright," the deputy nodded her understanding. 

An hour before the sun was to set the groups came filing back into base camp. Luck had not been on their side since none of the parties had found any sign of the unsub. A fire was brought to life and hotdogs were consumed for supper. Very little was spoken, everyone being quite tired after trekking through the woods all day. After the hotdogs were finished, everyone wandered off to bed.

“Ugh, these bugs keep eating at me,” Reid complained as he and Morgan were settling down into their sleeping bags. 

“This is where bugs live, what’d you expect?” Morgan smirked. 

Reid threw him a glare. 

“I do not like camping,” he stated. 

“Aw, c’mon, you don’t mean that,” Morgan said. 

“I do. I tripped over, like, four logs today. I scraped my knees on a rock that I slipped on. And I’m going to be covered in mosquito bites by the time we finish this case,” Reid nearly pouted. 

Morgan scooched his sleeping bag encased body closer to Reid’s sleeping bag. He wrapped an arm around the young doctor.

“This case will be over sooner than you think,” Morgan comforted him. 

“God, I hope so,” sighed Spencer. 

“Just try to get some sleep, okay?”

“I’ll try, but I think our tent is over a rockbed or something,” Reid complained. 

“Shut your eyes and listen to the nature outside,” Morgan instructed.

Sighing heavily, Reid did as he was told. Soon enough, both agents were asleep. Around one in the morning, however, Spencer woke up. He needed to relieve his bladder. Knowing fully well what he’d have to do, Reid wiggled out of his sleeping bag and ducked out of the tent. 

It had been decided by him that he absolutely disliked camping. There were bugs, dirt, and the worst thing of all was no bathrooms. None at all, leaving Reid and everyone else to just pee in the woods. As he found a spot, Reid thought he’d heard something in the woods. Thought he had seen a pinprick of light off in the distance coming closer. Thought he’d heard voices. 

It was probably nothing, yet as he quickly relieved his bladder, Spencer felt too vulnerable without his Glock, which was back in the tent. He had figured that he wouldn’t need it on his short trip to the bathroom.

Of course, Reid’s luck was not on his side. A flashlight blinded him and he barely had time to duck behind the tree when a scraggly looking man and Jacob Daniels came into view. 

“Are we going to kill them now?” Daniels asked the scraggly man. 

“No, it’s too risky, it’s your fault that the FBI are involved now. I should never have taken you into this, Jacob. You may be my nephew, but I’m surprised we’re even related,” the scraggly man grunted in reply. 

Reid knew he needed to get back to the camp before he was spotted. He moved, but his foot broke a branch. Damn the woods. Daniels looked in Reid’s direction. Spencer knew he had been spotted, yet Daniels merely smiled and then turned to the old man. He pulled out his weapon and before the scraggly man could even blink, Daniels pulled the trigger. 

Spencer took off in a sprint, hoping to make it to camp before Daniels had a chance to catch him. But Reid’s luck was very sour. Reid tripped over a rock. Coming down hard, Reid tried to clamber to his feet yet Daniels gripped his hair. A pain flared in the back of his neck and Reid’s vision blackened. 

The next thing he knew was that Morgan was by his side, sitting him up. It was brighter. The team and the Sheriff were here. They had flashlights. 

“What’s… what happened?” Reid frowned. 

He noticed that the Sheriff had Daniels in handcuffs. 

“Daniels hit you with a rock. There’s a bit of blood but he’s better with a firearm, you’ll only have a concussion at worst, though an ambulance has been called to the cabin,” Morgan explained. 

“He shot the original unsub,” Reid informed Morgan. 

“We know, baby,” said Morgan. 

Reid tried to stand up, but he grew dizzy. 

“Don’t move yet, just take a breather,” Morgan insisted, throwing a glance towards Rossi, whose prencese Reid was just becoming aware of. 

~~

A day after coming home from the camping case, as it was so fondly referred to, Reid found himself answering his door at five o’clock. 

“Hey, Morgan,” Reid greeted, upon seeing his partner. 

“Hey, so you ready to go camping?” Morgan grinned. 

JJ had invited the team to come to her home that evening, so that they could all have a more relaxing camping experience. Reid hadn’t wanted to go, his first experience hadn’t been all that great, but Morgan and he had made a compromise. 

If Reid did this, Morgan would go see one of Reid’s “nerd” movies. 

It was a compromise that Reid was willing to agree to. 

“Yeah, I’m ready, but there better be s’mores,” Reid said as he grabbed his little packed bag and shut his apartment door. 

“Don’t worry, pretty boy, there’s no way I’d let you experience your first camping experience without roasting some marshmallows,” Morgan chuckled. 

“Technically, this is my second camping experience,” Reid pointed out. 

Morgan pulled him into a walking hug, a hug that comprised of his arm wrapped fondly around Reid’s shoulder. 

“Nah, that one doesn’t count,” Morgan insisted. 

“Well, fine, but there better not be any bugs this time,” Reid huffed. 

With that, they clambered into Morgan’s car and headed to JJ’s house.


End file.
